What are some tips for holding hybrid events this 2021?
- Market Your Hybrid Event Properly
- Ensure The Safety Of The Audience
- Ensure Production Values Are Top-Notch
- Keep The Audience Engaged Through Content
- Select A Reliable Venue That Meets Your Event Needs
We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the way events are organized today. Amid easing COVID-19 restrictions and face-to-face event venues slowly opening their doors again, organizers are re-inventing their strategies by opting for hybrid events. In this guide, we will delve further into the most effective tips for holding hybrid events this 2021.
Hybrid events combine an in-person event with a virtual or online component. This event type has steadily increased in popularity as it can accommodate even audiences who cannot travel to the venue itself. It not only helps organizers insulate their events from any potential physical disruptions but also expands audience reach and collects crucial data for engagement. With hybrid events, there are also more options for content sharing and exhibiting, creating new lead generation opportunities and revenue streams.
Despite the advantages, there are still various factors that organizers must know to ensure their hybrid event delivers meaningful, engaging attendee experiences at scale. Read on.
Market Your Hybrid Event Properly
As stated earlier, one of the main benefits of a hybrid event is that it reaches a broader audience. While you may already be familiar with how you will market to your primary target audience, a lot more goes into marketing to secondary and tertiary audiences that are interested in your event content. This being said, it is recommended to market your hybrid event properly through personalization.
Consider remodeling your marketing strategy to accommodate the changing interests of your audience. An effective way to do this is by marketing the event three to four months before the day itself by producing creative yet individualized content through data collection and analysis.
Ensure The Safety Of The Audience
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it should go without saying that safety remains the top concern of people today. As there is still an in-person component to hybrid events, organizers must reassure this to attending participants.
Make them feel safe by rolling out advisories on the safety precautions being taken in the venue. These can include wearing face masks, temperature checks, social distancing, frequent sanitation, contact tracing, and many more. Restoring confidence among participants physically attending the event is key to a successful hybrid event.
Ensure Production Values Are Top-Notch
A hybrid event with high production values immerses virtual audiences and boosts engagement significantly. Since a large chunk of your attendees is likely to sign up virtually, it’s important to provide them premium experiences.
Consider hiring a skilled production team to attend to all technical aspects. This will avoid having problems on the event day itself such as lagging screens, faulty sound systems, and low-quality videos.
Keep The Audience Engaged Through Content
Hybrid events are quite challenging to organize given that there is a need to keep both in-person and virtual audiences engaged. You can boost in-person audience engagement in the form of venue displays, exhibitor booths, and face-to-face meetups during the entire event duration. In comparison, virtual attendees face a world of distractions that can potentially drive them away from your hybrid event.
Your content is arguably crucial during a hybrid event. To keep content engaging, make sure it will be seamlessly translated even through virtual platforms. Incorporate engaging sessions and have event moderators handle queries and comments in live chats. Make sure that the sessions are at a digestible length. Include gratifying activities such as quizzes and social media hashtags because audiences have a limited attention span.
Select A Reliable Venue That Meets Your Event Needs
A reliable venue will fulfill your hybrid event goals and seamlessly integrate both in-person and virtual experiences. There is a need to sync both experiences perfectly due to the complex setup of hybrid events. For this reason, the venue should be equipped to offer a broad array of tools and functionalities for both offline and online audience engagement.
A reliable venue will include provisions for registrations, webinars, speaker management, lead capture, and more. The best way to find out what venue works best for your event is to create criteria before committing.
At World Trade Center Metro Manila we ensure we provide clients and guests with world-class venus and services. Our state-of-the-art event halls are equipped with limitless flexibility given the professional lighting, audio-visual systems, and contiguous floor spaces for indoor and outdoor displays. With the Safety Seal certification, we can accommodate guests safely and every hall can be reconfigured according to an organizer’s specifications and requirements, hybrid or not.
Key Takeaway
Holding a hybrid event that will be engaging and will stand out among the others is not easy. You need to be able to make sure both in-person and virtual audiences remain engaged while subsequently aiming to cater to other untapped markets. If you stick to some of the above tips for holding hybrid events this 2021, then you’re on the right track to holding the best hybrid event yet.
